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Tonsillectomy Recovery Take 2

Monday (surgery day) — We had to be at the surgery center bright and early — 6:15 a.m. We waited in the waiting room first thing longer than John and I were there for the actual surgery. Dr. Ratcliffe came and got us and talked to us as soon as she was done, and then a nurse came for us once she was back in recovery. He said it went great but that her tonsils were really big. He said she’ll have a lot more room there now. She was still asleep when we went to recovery. We kissed on her and rubbed on her but let her sleep. When she woke up, she was hurting, crying and moaning and needing to spit. The nurse gave her a suction straw like at the dentist. She needed two shots of fentanyl in her IV and an oral dose of hydrocodone before her pain was managed. She had two Popsicles and dozed and watched a movie on the ipad while we waited the two hours in recovery. She was feeling fine once we got home and ate a couple of bites of scrambled eggs and had another Popsicle. She played Wii a bit and then ate some soup ( a couple of bites) and a smoothie, took another dose of hydrocodone and then a 2-hour nap (with me!) She felt up to a bath that evening.

Tuesday (day 1) — We started the late morning with a bowl of ice cream and hydrocodone — which she threw up! No blood, just ice cream. And she felt fine the rest of the day. That night, though, she threw up blood — first fresh blood and later dried (coffee ground) blood.

Wednesday (day 2) — We avoided dairy all day, and she rested pretty much all day, dozing on and off. By evening, she was up for some MariaKart Wii.

Thursday (day 3) — Back to better, eating mac and cheese, some ice cream. She woke in the middle of the night with leg pain, which is likely leg cramps from lack of minerals/nutrition. We called the doctor and John took her for a midnight walk around the block. Doc said to keep an eye on her pain and to take her to the ER at Dell Children’s around 6 or 7 if it kept her up. She slept peacefully, though, so we’ll just continue watching.

Friday (day 4) — After the pain last night, we have to watch for blood clots, so we’re keeping a close eye on her pain. Her breath is horrid, so I convinced her to swish mouthwash in her mouth throughout the day. Already smelling improvement. 🙂